Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103) establishes the following public holidays for Federal employees. Please note that most Federal employees work on a Monday through Friday schedule. For these employees, when a holiday falls on a nonworkday -- Saturday or Sunday -- the holiday usually is observed on Monday (if the holiday falls on Sunday) or Friday (if the holiday falls on Saturday).
Tuesday, January 1 | New Year’s Day |
Monday, January 21 | Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. |
Monday, February 18* | Washington’s Birthday |
Monday, May 26 | Memorial Day |
Friday, July 4 | Independence Day |
Monday, September 1 | Labor Day |
Monday, October 13 | Columbus Day |
Tuesday, November 11 | Veterans Day |
Thursday, November 27 | Thanksgiving Day |
Thursday, December 25 | Christmas Day |
* This holiday is designated as "Washington’s Birthday" in section 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code, which is the law that specifies holidays for Federal employees. Though other institutions such as state and local governments and private businesses may use other names, it is our policy to always refer to holidays by the names designated in the law.